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Mining and Geological Engineers

The aspirants who acquire degree certificates in mining and geological engineering are called mining and geological engineers. These are professionals responsible for mines design for excavation of natural resources from earth like coal, petroleum products, and minerals etc. Mining safety is also responsibility of these engineers which play crucial role in saving the lives of miners especially in case of unfortunate mining mishaps. In academics one can acquire a degree in mining engineering / geological engineering and respectively called mining engineers / geological engineers.

As a part of training program, in a mining engineering students specializes in particular metal or mineral for example, platinum, gold or coal. These engineers prepare mining maps and looks after mining excavation activities along with fellow workers. As mining engineer one is expected to find best possible ways to dig a mine and extract minerals of a given earth location with extreme efficiency and in cost effective manner keeping safety of men and machine at top priority. Mining Engineers also works with geologists and metallurgical engineers.

Geological engineers applies know how in geology to find possible places where a mine can be dug. They identify the places on earth rich in natural resources. Once a mining zone is identified they prepare a plan regarding methodologies of mine digging keeping in view the environmental challenges and people's health in the zone.

Role of a Mining and Geological Engineer

In industry a mining and geological engineer perform following types of activities:

Evaluate feasibility of a site for mine digging.

Prepares mine design and supervise excavation work.

Draft technical reports for miners, engineers and business managers.

Suggest methods of excavation and transportation for mined minerals.

Looks after dumping of mines waste produced through machinery etc. so it poses least environmental hazard or no hazard at all.

Looks after production activities and mining safety.

Skills Required for Mining and Geological Engineers

Academic requirement: Academically you need minimum bachelor’s degree i.e., B.E/B.Tech/B.S or equivalent from a recognized institute to start career as a Mining and Geological engineer. The bachelor’s degree in engineering is a 4year program offered to those candidates who have completed K-12 standard of education with physics, chemistry and mathematics. Working with rigorous mathematical and computational formulae and understanding the rendezvous of mechanics are some necessary trait to enroll in a bachelor’s program in Mining and Geological engineering.

To join postgraduate degree programs like MS, M.Tech and Ph.D etc in mining engineering / geological engineering disciplines universities ask for score in standardized test followed by essay test and personality interview. Minimum qualification to join masters level program and higher is graduate qualification in Mining and Geological engineering and related discipline.

Skills required to be an Mining and Geological Engineer

To be successful in career one needs to possess the following personality traits:

Analytical skill requirements- Mining and Geological Engineer must possess sound analytical skills to understand the working circumstances of the Mining and Geological systems.

Business Skills Requirements- Mining and Geological Engineer must be good in numbers to predetermine what a project will cost and how a company or government will benefit from it.

Critical Thinking Abilities- Mining and Geological Engineer must be able to think under what circumstances designs, materials and end product or project may fail and what should be alternative options in case of a failure so as to minimize losses. Mining and Geological Engineers work in highly sensitive environments where a small glitch may cost you a fortune within no time.

Team Worker- Mining and Geological Engineer works in team, he / she must need to be a good team worker, able to learn and make others learn in work environment.

Writing Skills- Mining and Geological Engineer work in a team with fellow engineers and other coworkers. They should have good writing and designing skills to present clear papers which other team workers could fully understand.